Pressure discharge container



y 1963 A. MICALLEF 3,089,624

PRESSURE DISCHARGE ,conmmm Filed June 28, 19 2 Sheets-sheaf. 1

INVENTOR LEWIS A. MICA LLEF BY ewww ATTORNEYS y 1963 L. A. MICALLEF3,089,624

PRESSURE DISCHARGE CONTAINER Filed June 28,1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v FIG.9 n

M 7 LEWIS A. MIQALLEF hwl, 7 ATT ORNEYS 3,089,624 PRESSURE DISCHARGECONTAINER Lewis A. Micallef, New York, N.Y., assignor to Leeds andMicallef, New York, N.Y., a partnership Filed June 28, 1956, Ser. No.594,415 4 Claims. (Cl. 222-3865) This invention relates to improvementsin pressure discharge containers wherein the commodity to be dispensedby the container is contained in a flexible bag of suitable plastic orlike sheet material and is expelled by a gas under pressure in the outercontainer which may be a metal can, in which the bag is enclosed.

One object of the present invention is to provide a container which canbe filled and closed by the machines now in use for filling and closingcontainers wherein the internal pressure is supplied by Freon or othersuitable gas mixed with or dissolved in the commodity to be expelled,and

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved containerwherein the cans now employed for pressurized contents can be used withcertain changes in a container of the class described wherein variousand sundry commodities of different consistency, from liquids as fluentas water to pastes, syrups and the like of high viscosity can besatisfactorily dispensed in accurately controlled increments withoutmodification of the container structure.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the followingspecification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein we have illustrated certain forms of our container as now beingproduced.

In the said drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a vertical section of a container for dispensing viscousliquids;

FIG. 2 is a similar view showing the discharge valve open;

\FIG. 3 is a vertical section of a portion of a container for dispensingliquids in the form of a spray;

FIG. 4 is a similar view with the discharge valve open;

FIG. 5 is a detail sectional view on an enlarged scale showing the valveof FIG. 3 before the can top is attached to the can body;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are detail views of the spray nozzle;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are detail views of the flexible bag for the liquid to bedispensed.

FIG. 10 is a detail view of a modified form of the discharge nozzle; and

FIG. 11 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 1 showing a modified form ofvalve and discharge tube.

Referring to the drawings, particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 indicates thecan body which, as stated above, is of the same construction as theconventional pressurized container. 2 is the can bottom and 3 the cantop, which are also of conventional construction.

The can top 3 is crimped over the neck of the can body after the can isfilled by the machines now employed for the so-called pressure fillingof pressurized containers. In such machines the crimping mechanism iscontained within a sleeve having a rubber gasket at its lower end whichfits over the top of the can so that the commodity containing the Freoncan be charged under pressure into the can. Such machines can be usedwith slight changes for the final filling step of the container of thisapplication.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bag 4 of flexible sheet material, e.g.polyethylene, consists of upper and lower disks 5 and 6, respectively,heat sealed together around their outer edges. The bottom disk 5 ispreferably made of somewhat thinner and more flexible material than theupper disk 6, and in the center of the disk 6 is a neck 7 (see FIGS. 8and 9) which, in turn, is fitted over the 3,089,624 Patented May 14,1963 plastic stem 8 containing the valve through which the packagedcommodity is dispensed. The lower end of the neck 7 is formed with aplurality of projections 9 the purpose of which is to prevent the bag,when collapsed by the pressure in the can as the contents aredischarged, closing ofi the end of the stern as might otherwise happenafter the major portion of the contents has been discharged.

Any suitable valve may be employed for regulating the discharge of thecontents. The valve shown consists of a ball 10 which seats against awasher 11 fitted against the inturned flange 12 at the end of thecentral stem 13 of the can top 3. The ball is held against the washer bya spring 14 which is partially compressed between the ball and ashoulder at the lower end of the bore of the stem 8.

The upper end of the cam is covered with a cap 16 of plastic such aspolyethylene, or vinyl or of rubber. The lower edge of the cap is shapedto fit the top of the can body around the base of the neck. The cap isattached by suitable cement or otherwise to the can top to provide afluid tight joint capable of remaining tight under pressure equal to thecharging pressure within the can. The walls of the cap 16 are thickenough to be substantially rigid, whereas the top is sufficientlyflexible to be readily depressed with the finger to thereby open thevalve and permit the discharge of the contents of the can into the spacewithin the cap. To open the valve there is attached to the under side ofthe cap 16 a stem 17 which is formed of metal or plastic or may consistof a pin set in a seat molded on the under side of the cap. When the capis applied to the can, the stem 17 overlies the ball 10 so that pressureon the top of the cap will open the valve.

The cap 16 is provided with a discharge nozzle 18 of the shape shown.That is to say, the opening of the nozzle is in the form of a horizontalslit which is normally closed, as shown in FIG. 1, when the top of thecan is not depressed to open the valve, but which is opened when the topof the cap is pressed down to open the valve, as shown in FIG. 2, tothereby facilitate the discharge of the contents of the bag.

In filling the container the bag 4 with the attached stem 8 is attachedto the top 3 of the can by crimping the neck of the can at severalplaces, as shown at 19, FIG. 1, into the groove around the outside :wallof the stem 8. The empty bag 4 is then bent downwardly away from theneck and thrust into the open end of the can with the can top resting onthe neck of the can body, but without crimping the margin of the can topover the neck. With the parts so assembled but with the can topunattached as shown in FIG. 5, the can is placed in the filling machinewhose first operation is to fill the bag with the desired quantity ofthe commodity to be dispensed. During such filling operation the air inthe can surrounding the bag is dispelled through the loose connectionbetween the can top and the neck of the can body. As the commodity isforced into the bag the .bottom half of the bag which is more flexiblethan the upper half will be forced downwardly until its folds aredistended and the upper half of the bag will be expanded outwardly sothat the bag above and below the middle seam will be fully distended.

In practice it has been found that the charge in the bag can equal inbulk four-fifths the capacity of the can. For example, a so-called sixounce can which when charged with six ounces of water will be full, canbe used for dispensing 5.15 ounces of a commodity having the samespecific gravity as water.

A pressure of a few pounds per square inch is all that is required tofill the cans with the commodity to be dispensed and to expand the baginto contact with the wall of the cans, as described. When the fillingis complete the valve will hold the bag closed against discharge of thecontents. After being charged with the commodity to be expelled the canis closed in the same manner and by the same machines now being used forclosing cans containing a pressure charged liquid. The pressure chamberof the closing machine, instead of being connected to a source of thepressure charged commodity, is charged with air under whatever pressureis desired for expelling the contents of the cans. Air under pressurepasses into the can around the open seam between the can top and theneck of the can body and while the interior of the tubular head of theclosing machine is maintained under the desired air pressure the flangeof the can top is crimped on the neck of the can body.

After the closing operation the can passes on to a cap applying headwhich places the cap 16 with the attached valve opening stem over thecan top and connects its lower edge to the metal of the can body aroundthe margin of the can top.

Instead of filling the bag with the commodity to be dispensed before thecan top is crimped to the can body as above described, the can crimpingoperation with the pressure head may be carried out at the factory,thereby charging the can with air under the desired pressure for theparticular commodity to be packaged in the can.

The cans so charged are then delivered to the purchaser of the commodityto be dispensed and are there filled by a conventional filling machineequipped with appropriate means for filling the cans through the valveopening. In charging the cans with air at the canning factory allowanceis made for the reduction in volume which will be effected by thedistension of the bags within the can when the bags are filled and thecharging pressure of the filling machine will have to be suflicient toovercome the increasing pressure which builds up during the fillingoperation.

The can is now ready for use, but in order to protect the can againstbeing accidentally opened during shipment a cap of celluloid or likematerial of sufiicient rigidity to prevent accidental opening of thevalve may be pressed over the top of the can.

In FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 I have shown a dispensing container designed fordischarging the contents in the form of a spray. As here shown the canand enclosed bag are the same as employed in the previously describedcontainer, but instead of employing a hollow cap overlying the end ofthe can as in the previous construction, the cap consists of a moldedplastic member which has a central bore 21 leading in from its bottomend, which bore fits over the hollow stem 27 of the valve member 26which controls the discharge of the commodity to be dispensed. Theplastic member 20 has a laterally extending bore 23 which joins with thecentral bore 21 and whose outer end is closed by two disks 24 and 25,respectively, of resilient material which may be either metal orplastic. The outer disk 25 has a central perforation while theunderlying disk 24 has a series of perforations surrounding the centralperforation of the outer disk 25. When the valve member is pressed thecontents of the bag pass through the valve member into the bore 21 andpass through the annular perforations in the disk 24 to the spacebetween the disks, the pressure bowing the outer disk 25 outwardly asshown in FIGS. 6 and 7 and causing the discharge through theperforations of bore 25 to be in the form of a fine spray.

The valve shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 consists of a plastic valve member26 having an upstanding tubular stem 27 to which is fitted the bore 21in the lower end of the plug 20. The stem 27 has a groove 28 at its baseand fitted in the groove is a flexible rubber washer 29 which is clampedat its outer edge between the top of the stem 8 and the inturned flangeof the central neck 13 of the can top when the valve is assembled withthe can top. Radial bores 30 connect the groove 28 with the bore of thestem 27, see FIG. 5.

The body of the valve member 26 below the stem 27 fits loosely withinthe stem 8 and is grooved to permit the liquid in the bag to flow freelyinto the space surrounding the number 26 below the washer.

Also enclosed within the stem 8 between the internal shoulder of thestem and the valve member 26 is a spring 31 which assists in holding thevalve body 26 and attached member 20 in elevated position.

The valve is opened by pressing on the member 20 to thereby move theinner portion of the washer 29 downwardly, thereby uncovering the radialbores 30 so that the liquid in the stem 8 can pass into the bore 21 andthence to the spray nozzle formed by the disks 24 and 25.

In FIG. 10 we have shown a modified form of discharge spout for usewhere it is desired to dispense the contents of the bag drop-wise or ina fine stream. As here shown the discharge spout 60 is in the form of anelongated flexible tube of the shape commonly employed for ear syringes.By virtue of the pressure reducing chamber and the fact that thedischarge pressure in the outer container may be just sutficent to expelthe contents of the bag, the fluid in the bag may readily be deliveredin drops or in a fine stream of Whatever force is desired.

I claim:

1. A dispensing container comprising a fluid-tight outer vesselcontaining an eXpansible fluid under pressure, an inner fluid-tightcontainer for the commodity to be dispensed, said inner containercomprising two wall porions of flexible material joined at theirperimeter, the perimeter of the wall portions being substantiallygreater than the perimeter of the adjacent portion of the outer vessel,unattached thereto and convoluted in contact therewith, a dischargepassage mounted in one wall of the outer container, an opening in themid portion of one of said wall portions and the material around theopening having a fluid-tight connection with said discharge passage.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein the material of the inner containerforming the perimeter is less flexible than in other areas.

3. The container of claim 1 wherein the inner container is formed of twoplastic sheets of substantially equal area joined together face to faceat their perimeters to form a flat portion of greater thickness.

4. The container of claim 2 wherein the outer vessel is a cylindricalvessel of stiff sheet material and the marginal portion of the innercontainer is in loose folds in Contact with the wall of the outervessel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS398,528 Molin Feb. 26, 1889 2,199,110 Metz Apr. 30. 1940 2,263,405 FunkeNov. 18, 1941 2,671,578 McBean Mar. 9, 1954 2,680,477 Schira June 8,1954 2,684,805 McBean July 27, 1954 2,689,768 Falligant Sept. 21, 19542,705,661 Meissner Apr. 5, 1955 2,707,968 Efford May 10, 1955 2,723,790Spiess Nov. 15, 1955 2,734,774 Manseau Feb. 14, 1956 2,753,214 AblanalpJuly 3, 1956 2,772,820 ODonnell Dec. 4, 1956 2,823,953 McGeorge Feb. 18,1958

1. A DISPENSING CONTAINER COMPRISING A FLUID-TIGHT OUTER VESSELCONTAINING AN EXPANSIBLE FLUID UNDER PRESSURE, AN INNER FLUID-TIGHTCONTAINER FOR THE COMMODITY TO BE DISPENSED, SAID INNER CONTAINERCOMPRISING TWO WALL PORIONS OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL JOINED AT THEIRPERIMETER, THE PERIMETER OF THE WALL PORTIONS BEING SUBSTANTIALLYGREATER THAN THE PERIMETER OF THE ADJACENT PORTION OF THE OUTER VESSEL,UNATTACHED THERETO AND CONVOLUTED IN CONTACT THEREWITH, A DISCHARGEPASSAGE MOUNTED IN ONE WALL OF THE OUTER CONTAINER, AN OPENING IN THEMID PORTION OF ONE OF SAID WALL PORTIONS AND THE MATERIAL AROUND THEOPENING HAVING A FLUID-TIGHT CONNECTION WITH SAID DISCHARGE PASSAGE.